The Federal Flammability Act 16 C.F.R. Part 1632 was originally established to provide a federal flammability standard for bedding mattresses to reduce the chance and size of accidental fires caused by a cigarette or some form of smoldering heat source coming into contact with the bedding mattresses. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (“CPSC”) recognized this flammability standard was inadequate due a significant number of mattress fires that were the result of some form of open fuel source.
Working with the National Institute for Safety and Technology (“NIST”) in October 2001, the CPSC issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (“ANPR”) concerning the open flame ignition of mattresses/bedding to broaden the standard to include some form of open fuel source requirement. These flammability standards were researched and in 2005 the CPSC issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (“NPR”) proposing a flammability standard based on the NIST research.
The characteristics of mattress/bedding fires and research conducted to develop the standard are discussed in detail in the NPR, 70 F.R. 2470, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. The final rule was enacted in March of 2006 as 16 C.F.R. Part 1633 entitled Standard for the Flammability (Open Flame) of Mattress Sets (hereinafter the “1633 flammability standard”) as published in the Federal Register/Vol. 71, No. 50. Mar. 15, 2006/Rules and Regulations, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. The 1633 flammability standard applies to mattresses and mattress and foundation sets (“mattress sets”) “Mattress” is defined as a resilient material, used alone or in combination with other materials, enclosed in a ticking and intended or promoted for sleeping upon.
Because a mattress contains a substantial amount of flammable materials, if a mattress that does not meet the 1633 flammability standard ignites in a bedroom fire, the mattress will burn rapidly, and will quickly reach dangerous flashover conditions within a few minutes. Flashover is the point at which the entire contents of a room are ignited simultaneously by radiant heat, making conditions in the room untenable and safe exit from the room impossible. At flashover, room temperatures typically exceed 600-800° C. (approximately 1100-1470′ F.). About two-thirds of all mattress fatalities pre-1633 flammability standard were attributed to mattress fires that lead to flashover. This accounted for nearly all of the fatalities that occurred outside the room where the fire originated and about half of the fatalities that occurred within the room of origin.
The size of a fire can be measured by its rate of heat release. A heat release rate of approximately 1,000 kilowatts (“kW”) leads to flashover in a typical room. Tests of twin size mattresses of traditional constructions (complying with the earlier mattress cigarette ignition standard in 16 C F.R. 1632) without bedclothes have measured peak heat release rates that exceeded 2,000 kW in less than 5 minutes. In tests of traditional king size mattresses, peak rates of heat release were nearly double that amount.
The goal of the 1633 flammability standard was to minimize or delay flashover when a mattress was ignited in a typical bedroom fire. With certain exceptions explained below, the standard requires manufacturers to test specimens of each of their mattress prototypes (designs) before mattresses based on that prototype may be introduced into commerce. The 1633 flammability standard prescribes a full-scale test using a pair of T-shaped gas burners designed to represent burning bedclothes. The mattress set must not exceed a peak heat release rate of 200 kW at any time during a 30 minute test and the total heat release for the first 10 minutes of the test must not exceed 15 mega joules (“MJ”). Mattresses that meet the 1633 flammability standard's criteria will make only a limited contribution to a fire, especially in the early stages of the fire. This will allow occupants more time to discover the fire and escape. As used in the 1633 flammability standard, the term “mattress set” means a mattress alone if the mattress is manufactured for sale without a foundation, or a mattress and a foundation together, if the mattress is manufactured for sale with a foundation. Under the 1633 flammability standard, a mattress manufactured for sale with a foundation must be tested with its foundation and a mattress manufactured for sale alone must be tested alone.
According to the International Sleep Products Association (“ISPA”), the top four producers of mattresses and foundations account for almost 60 percent of total U.S. production. In 2003, there were 571 establishments producing mattresses in the U.S. The volume of affected product has remained stable as a result of the downturn in the U.S. economy since 2008 and is currently estimated at 13,000,000 mattresses and 7,000,00 interior spring bases.
Mattresses and foundations are typically sold as sets. However, more mattresses are sold annually than foundations. Some mattresses are sold as replacements for existing mattresses (without a new foundation) or are for use in platform beds or other beds that do not require a foundation. ISPA estimated that the total number of U.S. conventional mattress shipments was 22.5 million in 2004, and would be 23.0 million in 2005. These estimates do not include futons, crib mattresses, juvenile mattresses sleep sofa inserts, or hybrid water mattresses. These “non-conventional” sleep surfaces are estimated to comprise about 10 percent of total annual shipments of all sleep products. The value of conventional mattress and foundation shipments in 2004, according to ISPA, was $4.10 and $1.69 billion respectively, compared to $3.28 and $1.51 billion respectively in 2002. These 2013 annualized volumes were estimated at 20,000,000 with values having not increased significantly due to the US recession. Even these tower numbers are still considered by Industry experts to be in the $1.5 billion range despite the reduction in volume.
The expected useful life of mattresses can vary substantially, with more expensive models generally experiencing the longest useful lives. Industry sources recommend replacement of mattresses after 10 to 12 years.
It has been estimated that about 15,000 mattress related fires occur per year. For example, annual estimates of national fires and fire losses involving ignition of a mattress or bedding are based on data from the U.S. Fire Administration's National Fire Incident Reporting System (“NFIRS”) and the National Fire Protection Administration's (“NFPA”) annual survey of fire departments. The most recent national fire loss estimates indicated that mattresses and bedding were the first items to ignite in 15,300 residential fires attended by the fire service annually during 1999-2002. These fires resulted in 350 deaths, 1,750 injuries and $295.0 million in property loss annually. Of these, the commission considers an estimated 14,300 fires, 330 deaths, 1,680 injuries, and $281.5 million in property loss annually to be addressable by the standard. The term ‘addressable’ means the incidents were of a type that would be affected by the standard solely based on the characteristics of the fire cause (i.e., a fire that ignited a mattress or that ignited bedclothes which in turn ignited the mattress).
Among the addressable casualties, open flame fires accounted for about 110 deaths (33 percent) and 890 injuries (53 percent) annually. Smoking fires accounted for 180 deaths (55 percent) and about 520 injuries (31 percent) annually. Children younger than age 15 accounted for an estimated 90 addressable deaths (27 percent) and 340 addressable injuries (20 percent) annually. Adults age 65 and older accounted for an estimated 80 addressable deaths (24 percent) and 180 addressable injuries (11 percent) annually.
The standard sets forth performance requirements that ail mattress sets must meet before being introduced into commerce. The test method is a full scale test based on the NIST research discussed above and in the NPR. The mattress specimen (a mattress alone or mattress and foundation set usually m a twin size) is exposed to a pair of T-shaped propane burners and allowed to burn freely for a period of 30 minutes. The burners were designed to represent burning bedclothes. Measurements are taken of the heat release rate from the specimen and energy generated from the fire. The standard establishes two test criteria, both of which the mattress set must meet in order to comply with the standard:
(1) The peak rate of heat release for the mattress set must not exceed 200 kW at any time during the 30 minute test; and
(2) The total heat release must not exceed 15 MJ for the first 10 minutes of the test.
Traditionally, woven ticking fabrics are used to cover the mattresses and form the outer surface of the mattresses. To meet these performance requirements, a fire-resistant barrier material is laminated to the inner surface (“burn surface”) of the woven ticking fabric. Alternatively, a fire-resistant ‘sock’ or sleeve component comprising a two-dimensional stretchable knit is placed over the mattress core during assembly and a woven licking fabric placed over the knitted fire-resistant sock. These woven ticking fabrics generally require a large amount of batting secured thereto to provide a level of comfort to the user during use, but generally do little to enhance such comfort. For example, these woven ticking fabrics, whether with a laminated backing or used over the knitted sock, do not disperse heat very well. As the user becomes hot and sweats, the woven ticking fabric does not wick the moisture that passes through the sheets away from the user which can lead to an uncomfortable resting period for the user. Further, these woven ticking fabrics provide limited, if any, load barrier comfort support that is recoverable from compression.
As such a need exists for fire resistant mattresses and fire resistant mattress cover materials that can form the outer surface of the respective mattresses that meet current flammability standards and that can provide an integral ‘airflow’ system, moisture transfer, wicking capabilities load distribution, and/or compression recovery as integral features of the mattress cover material.